The Northern and
Southern dynastiesSouthern dynasties (Chinese: 南北朝; pinyin:
Nán-Běi Cháo) was a period in the history of China that lasted from
420 to 589, following the tumultuous era of the
Sixteen KingdomsSixteen Kingdoms and
the Wu Hu states. It is sometimes considered as the latter part of a
longer period known as the
Six DynastiesSix Dynasties (220 to 589).[1] Though an
age of civil war and political chaos, it was also a time of
flourishing arts and culture, advancement in technology, and the
spread of
MahayanaMahayanaBuddhismBuddhism and Daoism. The period saw large-scale
migration of
Han ChineseHan Chinese to the lands south of the Yangtze. The period
came to an end with the unification of all of
China properChina proper by Emperor
Wen of the Sui Dynasty.
During this period, the process of sinicization accelerated among the
non-Chinese arrivals in the north and among the indigenous people in
the south. This process was also accompanied by the increasing
popularity of
BuddhismBuddhism (introduced into China in the 1st century) in
both northern and southern China and
DaoismDaoism gaining influence as well,
with two essential Daoist canons written during this period.
Notable technological advances occurred during this period. The
invention of the stirrup during the earlier Jin dynasty (265–420)
helped spur the development of heavy cavalry as a combat standard.
Historians also note advances in medicine, astronomy, mathematics, and
cartography. Intellectuals of the period include the mathematician and
astronomer
Zu ChongzhiZu Chongzhi (429–500).

Background[edit]
Main articles: End of the Han dynasty, Three Kingdoms, Jin dynasty
(265–420), and Sixteen Kingdoms
After the collapse of a united China under the
Han dynastyHan dynasty in 220 due
in large part to the Yellow Turban and the Five Pecks of Rice
rebellions, China eventually coalesced into the Three Kingdoms. Of
these,
Cao WeiCao Wei was the strongest, followed by
Eastern WuEastern Wu and Shu Han,
but they were initially in a relatively stable formation. After a 249
coup by Sima Yi, the Sima family essentially controlled
Cao WeiCao Wei and
the conquest of Shu by Wei rapidly followed.
Following a failed coup by the ruling Cao family against the Sima
family, the final Cao ruler abdicated. Sima Yan then founded the Jin
Dynasty as
Emperor Wu of JinEmperor Wu of Jin and the conquest of Wu by Jin occurred in
280, ending the
Three KingdomsThree Kingdoms period and reuniting China.
The Jin dynasty was severely weakened after the War of the Eight
Princes from 291-306. During the reigns of Emperor Huai and Emperor
Min, the country was put into grave danger with the uprising of the
northern non-Han people collectively known as the Five Barbarians.
Invading non-Han armies almost destroyed the dynasty in the Disaster
of Yongjia of 311, when the
Five BarbariansFive Barbarians sacked Luoyang. Chang'an
met a similar fate in 316.
However, a scion of the royal house, Sima Rui, Prince of Langya, fled
south of the
Huai RiverHuai River to salvage what was left in order to sustain
the empire, establishing himself as Emperor Yuan. Cementing their
power in the south, the Jin established
JiankangJiankang on the existing site
of Jianke (now Nanjing) as their new capital, renaming the dynasty as
the Eastern Jin since the new capital was located southeast of
Luoyang.
In the north, the
Five BarbariansFive Barbarians established numerous kingdoms,
leading to the period being known as the Sixteen Kingdoms. Eventually,
the
Northern WeiNorthern Wei conquered the rest of the northern states in 386.
Although the Eastern Jin and successive southern dynasties were
well-defended from the northern states by placement of naval fleets
along the Yangtze, there were still various problems faced with
building and maintaining military strength. The designation of
specific households for military service in the tuntian system
eventually led to a falling out in their social status, causing
widespread desertion of troops on many occasions. Faced with shortage
of troop numbers, Jin generals were often sent on campaigns to capture
non-Chinese people in the south in order to draft them into the
military. The Eastern Jin dynasty fell not because of external
invasion, however, but because General Liu Yu seized the throne from
Emperor Gong and establishing himself as
Emperor Wu of Liu SongEmperor Wu of Liu Song (r.
420–422), which officially began the Northern and Southern
dynasties.
Northern dynasties[edit]
See also: List of Emperors of China's Northern Dynasties
The
Northern dynastiesNorthern dynasties began in 439 when the
Northern WeiNorthern Wei conquered
the
Northern LiangNorthern Liang to unite northern China and ended in 589 when Sui
dynasty extinguished the Chen dynasty. It can be divided into three
time periods: Northern Wei; Eastern and Western Weis;
Northern QiNorthern Qi and
Northern Zhou. The Northern, Eastern, and
Western WeiWestern Wei along with the
Northern ZhouNorthern Zhou were established by the
XianbeiXianbei people while the
Northern QiNorthern Qi was established by Sinicized barbarians.
Rise of
Northern WeiNorthern Wei (386–535) and the
Sinicization movement[edit]
Main article: Northern Wei

In the
Sixteen KingdomsSixteen Kingdoms period, the
TuobaTuoba family of the
XianbeiXianbei were
the rulers of the state of Dai (Sixteen Kingdoms). Although it was
conquered by the Former Qin, the defeat of the
Former QinFormer Qin at the
Battle of Fei RiverBattle of Fei River resulted in the collapse of the Former Qin. The
grandson of the last prince of Dai
TuobaTuoba Shiyijian,
TuobaTuoba Gui restored
the fortunes of the
TuobaTuoba clan, renaming his state Wei (now known as
Northern Wei) with its capital at Shengle (near modern Hohhot). Under
the rule of Emperors Daowu (
TuobaTuoba Gui), Mingyuan, and Taiwu, the
Northern WeiNorthern Wei progressively expanded. The establishment of the early
Northern WeiNorthern Wei state and economy was also greatly indebted to the
father-son pair of Cui Hong and Cui Hao.
TuobaTuoba Gui engaged in numerous
conflicts with the
Later YanLater Yan that ended favorably for the Northern Wei
after they received help from Zhang Gun that allowed them to destroy
the
Later YanLater Yan army at the Battle of Canhe Slope. Following this
victory,
TuobaTuoba Gui conquered the
Later YanLater Yan capital of Pingcheng
(modern day Datong). That same year he declared himself as Emperor
Daowu.
Due to Emperor Daowu's cruelty, he was killed by his son
TuobaTuoba Shao,
but crown prince
TuobaTuoba Si managed to defeat
TuobaTuoba Shao and took the
throne as Emperor Mingyuan. Though he managed to conquer Liu Song's
province of Henan, he died soon afterwards. Emperor Mingyuan's son
TuobaTuoba Tao took the throne as Emperor Taiwu. Due to Emperor Taiwu's
energetic efforts, Northern Wei's strength greatly increased, allowing
them to repeatedly attack Liu Song. After dealing the
RouranRouran threat to
his northern flank, he engaged in a war to unite northern China. With
the fall of the
Northern LiangNorthern Liang in 439, Emperor Taiwu united northern
China, ending the
Sixteen KingdomsSixteen Kingdoms period and beginning the Northern
and
Southern dynastiesSouthern dynasties period with their southern rivals, the Liu
Song.
Even though it was a time of great military strength for the Northern
Wei, because of
RouranRouran harassment in the north, they could not fully
focus on their southern expeditions. After uniting the north, Emperor
Taiwu also conquered the strong
ShanshanShanshan kingdom and subjugated the
other kingdoms of Xiyu, or the Western Regions. In 450, Emperor Taiwu
once again attacked the
Liu SongLiu Song and reached Guabu (瓜步, in modern
Nanjing, Jiangsu), threatening to cross the river to attack Jiankang,
the
Liu SongLiu Song capital. Though up to this point, the Northern Wei
military forces dominated the
Liu SongLiu Song forces, they took heavy
casualties. The
Northern WeiNorthern Wei forces plundered numerous households
before returning north.

At this point, followers of the Buddhist Gai Wu (蓋吳) rebelled.
After pacifying this rebellion, Emperor Taiwu, under the advice of his
Daoist prime minister Cui Hao, proscribed Buddhism, in the first of
the Three Disasters of Wu. At this late stage in his life, Emperor
Taiwu meted out cruel punishments, which led to his death in 452 at
the hands of the eunuch Zong Ai. This sparked off turmoil that only
ended with the ascension of Emperor Wencheng later that same year.
In the first half of the
Northern WeiNorthern Wei dynasty (386–534), the Xianbei
steppe tribesmen who dominated northern China kept a policy of strict
social distinction between them and their Chinese subjects. Chinese
were drafted into the bureaucracy, employed as officials to collect
taxes, etc. However, the Chinese were kept out of many higher
positions of power. They also represented the minority of the populace
where centers of power were located.
Widespread social and cultural transformation in northern China came
with Emperor Xiaowen of
Northern WeiNorthern Wei (reigned 471–499), whose father
was a Xianbei, but whose mother was Chinese. Although of the Tuoba
Clan from the
XianbeiXianbei tribe, Emperor Xiaowen asserted his dual
Xianbei-Chinese identity, renaming his own clan after the Chinese Yuan
(元 meaning "elemental" or "origin"). In the year 493 Emperor Xiaowen
instituted a new sinification program that had the
XianbeiXianbei elites
conform to many Chinese standards. These social reforms included
donning Chinese clothing (banning
XianbeiXianbei clothing at court), learning
the
Chinese languageChinese language (if under the age of thirty), applied
one-character Chinese surnames to
XianbeiXianbei families, and encouraged the
clans of high-ranking
XianbeiXianbei and Chinese families to intermarry.
Emperor Xiaowen also moved the capital city from Pingcheng to one of
China's old imperial sites, Luoyang, which had been the capital during
the earlier Eastern Han and Western Jin dynasties. The new capital at
LuoyangLuoyang was revived and transformed, with roughly 150,000
XianbeiXianbei and
other northern warriors moved from north to south to fill new ranks
for the capital by the year 495. Within a couple decades, the
population rose to about half a million residents, and was famed for
being home to over a thousand Buddhist temples. Defectors from the
south, such as Wang Su of the prestigious Langye Wang family, were
largely accommodated and felt at home with the establishment of their
own Wu quarter in
LuoyangLuoyang (this quarter of the city was home to over
three thousand families). They were even served tea (by this time
gaining popularity in southern China) at court instead of yogurt
drinks commonly found in the north.

The stone tomb gate and couch of An Jia,
Northern ZhouNorthern Zhou period Sogdian
nobleman, excavated from Xi'an. An Jia held the title of Sar-pav of
Tongzhou prefecture and was in charge of commercial affairs of foreign
merchants from Middle Asia, who made businesses in China. The stone
gate is flanked by two lions and the horizontal tablet is carved with
sacrificial scene of Zoroastrianism.

In the year 523, Prince Dongyang of the
Northern WeiNorthern Wei was sent to
DunhuangDunhuang to serve as its governor for a term of fifteen years. With
the religious force of
BuddhismBuddhism gaining mainstream acceptance in
Chinese society, Prince Dongyang and local wealthy families set out to
establish a monumental project in honor of Buddhism, carving and
decorating Cave 285 of the
Mogao CavesMogao Caves with beautiful statues and
murals. This promotion of the arts would continue for centuries at
Dunhuang, and is now one of China's greatest tourist attractions.
In that same year of 523 a revolt of several military garrisons was
caused by a food shortage far north of Luoyang. After this was
suppressed, the government had 200,000 surrendered garrison rebels
deployed to Hebei, which proved later to be a mistake when a former
garrison officer organized another rebellion in the years 526–527.
The Wei court was betrayed by one of their own generals, who had the
empress dowager and the young emperor thrown into the Yellow River,
while establishing his own puppet ruler to maintain authority. As
conflict swelled in the north between successive leaders, Gao Huan
took control of the east and
LuoyangLuoyang (holding Emperor Xiaojing of
Eastern WeiEastern Wei as a puppet ruler) by 534, while his rival
Yuwen Tai took
control of the west and the traditional Chinese capital of
Chang'anChang'an by
535. Eventually, Gao Huan's son Gao Yang forced the Eastern Wei
emperor to abdicate in favor of his claim to the throne, establishing
the
Northern QiNorthern Qi dynasty (551–577). Afterwards, Yuwen Tai's son Yuwen
Jue seized the throne of power from Emperor Gong of Western Wei,
establishing the
Northern ZhouNorthern Zhou dynasty (557–580). The Northern Zhou
dynasty was able to defeat and conquer
Northern QiNorthern Qi in 577, reunifying
the north. However, this success was short-lived, as the Northern Zhou
was overthrown in 581 by Yang Jian, who became Emperor Wen of Sui.
With greater military power and morale, along with convincing
propaganda that the
Chen dynastyChen dynasty ruler
Chen ShubaoChen Shubao was a decadent
ruler who had lost the Mandate of Heaven, the
Sui DynastySui Dynasty was able to
effectively conquer the south. After this conquest, the whole of China
entered a new golden age of reunification under the centralization of
the short-lived
Sui dynastySui dynasty and succeeding
Tang dynastyTang dynasty (618–907).
Eastern WeiEastern Wei (534–550)[edit]
Main article: Eastern Wei
Western WeiWestern Wei (535–557)[edit]
Main article: Western Wei
Northern QiNorthern Qi (550–577)[edit]
Main article: Northern Qi
Northern ZhouNorthern Zhou (557–581)[edit]
Main article: Northern Zhou
Southern dynasties[edit]
See also: List of Emperors of China's Southern Dynasties

A scene of two horseback riders from a wall painting in the tomb of
Lou Rui at Taiyuan, Shanxi,
Northern QiNorthern Qi dynasty (550-577 AD)

The Jin were succeeded by a series of short-lived dynasties: Liu Song
(420–479),
Southern QiSouthern Qi (479–502), Liang (502–557) and Chen
(557–589). Because all of these dynasties had their capital at
JiankangJiankang except Liang, they are sometimes grouped together with
Eastern WuEastern Wu and Eastern Jin as the Six Dynasties. The rulers of these
short-lived dynasties were generals who seized and then held power for
several decades but were unable to securely pass power of rule onto
their heirs to continue their dynasty successfully. Emperor Wu of
Liang (502–549) was the most notable ruler of his age, being a
patron of the arts and of Buddhism.
Under the later waning leadership of the Chen dynasty, the southern
Chinese were unable to resist the military power amassed in the north
by Yang Jian, who declared himself
Emperor Wen of SuiEmperor Wen of Sui and invaded the
south.
Liu SongLiu Song (420–479)[edit]
Main article:
Liu SongLiu Song dynasty

Liu SongLiu Song founder Liu Yu was originally a leader of the Army of the
Northern Garrison (Chinese: 北府軍) that notably won the Battle of
Fei River in 383. In 404, he helped suppress Huan Xuan's rebellion,
leading to his dominance over the Eastern Jin court. In order to gain
popularity to take the throne he led expeditions against the Sixteen
Kingdoms, capturing Shandong,
HenanHenan and, briefly,
GuanzhongGuanzhong by 416. He
gave up
GuanzhongGuanzhong to try to take the throne. Because he believed in a
prophecy saying there would be one more emperor after Emperor An, he
deposed the former and, soon afterwards, his replacement, Emperor Gong
in 420, ending the Eastern Jin dynasty.
Even after crowning himself Emperor Wu, Liu Yu remained frugal.
However, he did not care for education and trusted unsavory people. He
felt that the nobility had too much power, so he tended to appoint the
lower classes to government positions and gave military power to
imperial kinsmen. Ironically, because the imperial kinsmen stabilized
their military power and wished to gain political power, Emperor Wu
was afraid they would have thoughts of usurping the throne. Thus, he
also frequently killed his kinsmen.
After the death of Emperor Wu, his son Emperor Shao ruled briefly
before being judged incompetent and killed by government officials led
by Xu Xianzhi, replacing him with Emperor Wen, a different son, who
soon killed the officials who supported him. Emperor Wen's reign was a
period of relative political stability because of his frugality and
good government; the period was called the
Reign of Yuanjia (Chinese:
元嘉之治).
In 430, Emperor Wen started a number of northern expeditions against
Northern Wei. These were ineffective because of insufficient
preparations and excessive micromanagement of his generals, decreasing
weakening the dynasty. Because of his jealousy of Tan Daoji, a noted
leader of the Army of the Northern Garrison, he deprived himself of a
formidable general to the great delight of the Northern Wei. Thus,
they were unable to capitalize when
Northern WeiNorthern Wei suffered the Wuqi
Incident. Starting in 445, Northern Wei, taking advantage of Liu
Song's weakness, made major incursions in the lands between the
YangtzeYangtze and the Huai (modern Shandong, Hebei, and Henan) and
devastating six provinces. Emperor Wen lamented that if Tan were still
alive, he would have prevented
Northern WeiNorthern Wei advances. From then on,
Liu SongLiu Song was in a weakened state.
Emperor Wen was assassinated by Crown Prince Shao and Second Prince
Jun in 453 after planning to punish them for witchcraft. However, they
were both defeated by Third Prince Jun, who become Emperor Xiaowu.
proved to be licentious and cruel, supposedly committing incest with
the daughters of an uncle who had helped him gain the throne; his
rivals also claimed he had incest with his mother. This led to two
rebellions by the imperial clan, one of which saw him slaughter the
inhabitants of Guangling. The following ballad gives an idea of those
times:

遙望建康城， Looking toward
JiankangJiankang city
小江逆流縈， the little river flows against the current
前見子殺父， in front, one sees sons killing fathers
後見弟殺兄。 and behind, one sees younger brothers killing older
brothers [a]

Emperor Xiaowu died naturally in 464 and was succeeded by his son, who
became Emperor Qianfei. Emperor Qianfei proved to be similar to his
father, engaging in both kin-slaughter and incest. In a scandalous
move, because his sister complained about how it was unfair that men
were allowed 10,000 concubines, he gave her 30 handsome young men as
lovers. His uncle Liu Yu, the Prince of Xiangdong, whom he called the
"Prince of Pigs" for his obesity, eventually assassinated him and
became Emperor Ming.
Emperor Ming began his reign by killing all the descendants of Emperor
Xiaowu, and his suspicious nature resulted in the loss of the
provinces north of the Huai River, which were only briefly regained in
the other Southern dynasties. Emperor Ming's young son became Emperor
Houfei. The political situation was volatile. General Xiao Daocheng
slowly gained power and eventually deposed Emperor Houfei in favor of
his brother, who became Emperor Shun. After defeating the rival
general Shen Youzhi, Xiao forced Emperor Shun to yield to throne and
crowned himself Emperor Gao of Southern Qi, thus ending the Liu Song
dynasty.
Southern QiSouthern Qi (479–502)[edit]
Main article: Southern Qi
Though distantly related, the
Southern QiSouthern Qi and the following Liang
dynasty were members of the Xiao (蕭) family from Lanling (蘭陵, in
modern Cangshan County, Shandong). Because Emperor Gao had a low
social standing, he earned the disdain of nobility. His style of
governance was similar to the early style of the
Liu Song dynastyLiu Song dynasty and
was very economical. He died in the fourth year of his reign and his
heir, who was only 13 years younger than him, succeeded him as Emperor
Wu of Southern Qi. Emperor Wu made peace with the Northern Wei,
content to protect his borders. This period of peace was known as
Yongming Administration (永明之治). He also used government
secretaries (典簽官) appointed with provincial governors and
members of the imperial clan to monitor them.
The short reigns of Emperor Wu's grandsons,
Xiao Zhaoye and Xiao
Zhaowen (his first son predeceased him), were dominated by Xiao Luan,
Emperor's Wu's first cousin. He killed them in turn and crowned
himself as Emperor Ming of Southern Qi. Using the government
secretaries (典簽官), he slaughtered all the descendants of
Emperors Gao and Wu. Emperor Ming soon became very ill and started
following Daoism, changing his whole wardrobe to red. He also passed
an edict making officials try to find silver fish (銀魚). He died in
498 and was succeeded by his son Xiao Baojuan, who killed high
officials and governors at whim, sparking many revolts. The final
revolt in 501 started after Xiao Baojun killed his prime minister Xiao
Yi, leading his brother Xiao Yan to revolt under the banner of Xiao
Baojun's brother who was declared Emperor He of Southern Qi. Xiao
Baojun was killed by one of his generals during the siege of his
capital at Jiankang, and after a short puppet reign by Emperor He,
Xiao Yan overthrew the
Southern QiSouthern Qi and established the Liang dynasty.
Liang (502–557)[edit]
Main article: Liang dynasty

Portrait of Emperor Wu of Liang

Emperor Wu was economical, worked hard at governing, and cared for the
common people. His early reign was known as Reign of Tianjian
(天監之治). The Liang dynasty's military strength gradually
surpassed the strength of the Northern Wei, who suffered internal
strife due to their policy of sinicization. In 503, the Northern Wei
invaded but were defeated at Zhongli (modern Bengbu). Emperor Wu
supported the Northern Expeditions but did not aggressively take
advantage of his victory in 516 at Shouyang due to heavy casualties.
Given the excessive kin-slaughter in the
Liu SongLiu Song and Southern Qi
dynasties, Emperor Wu was very lenient to imperial clansmen, not even
investigating them when they committed crimes. Because he was very
learned, supported scholars, and encouraged the flourishing education
system, the
Liang dynastyLiang dynasty reached a cultural peak. An avid poet,
Emperor Wu was fond of gathering many literary talents at court, and
even held poetry competitions with prizes of gold or silk for those
considered the best.
In his later years, however, sycophants surrounded him. Three times he
dedicated his life (捨身) to
BuddhismBuddhism and tried to become a monk,
but each time he was persuaded to return by extravagant court
donations to Buddhism. Furthermore, since Buddhists and Daoists were
exempt from taxation, nearly half of the population fraudulently named
themselves as such, badly damaging state finances. Imperial clansmen
and officials were also greedy and wasteful.
Emperor Wu was willing to accept generals who defected from Northern
Wei. So when
Northern WeiNorthern Wei suffered major revolts in their northern
garrison towns, he sent his general
Chen Qingzhi to support the
pretender Yuan Hao. Despite the fact that Chen was only given 7,000
troops, he still managed to defeat army after army and even captured
Luoyang, the capital of Northern Wei. Ultimately, Chen was
insufficiently supplied and was defeated by troops ten times his size.
After the
Northern WeiNorthern Wei split into Eastern and Western Wei, Emperor Wu
granted asylum to rebel
Eastern WeiEastern Wei commander Hou Jing, sending him on
Northern Expeditions against Eastern Wei. After some initial
successes, Liang forces were decisively defeated. Rumors abounded that
Emperor Wu intended to give Hou as a peace offering. Despite Emperor
Wu's assurances, Hou decided to rebel in the name of Xiao Dong, the
grandson of the former crown prince
Xiao TongXiao Tong who died in 531 and was
removed from crown prince because of conflicts with his father. Hou
surprised Emperor Liang by besieging the Liang capital at Jiankang.
Attempts by Liang forces to break the siege failed, and Emperor Wu was
forced to negotiate a ceasefire and peace. However, Hou thought that
peace was unsustainable, so he broke the ceasefire and captured the
palace, leading to the slaughter of the nearby populace. Emperor Wu
was starved to death and after the short puppet reigns of crown prince
Xiao GangXiao Gang and Xiao Dong, Hou seized power and established the Han
dynasty.
In spite of conquering Jiankang, Hou essentially only controlled the
nearby areas. The rest of the
Liang dynastyLiang dynasty lands were under the
control of members of the imperial clan. Their squabbling amongst
themselves weakened their efforts to defeat Hou. In the end, Xiao Yi
with the aid of his generals
Wang Sengbian and
Chen BaxianChen Baxian defeated
Hou, crowning himself Emperor Yuan of Liang. His brother
Xiao Ji based
in
SichuanSichuan was still a major threat. Emperor Yuan asked for assistance
from
Western WeiWestern Wei to defeat Xiao Ji, but after subduing Xiao Ji, they
kept Sichuan. Due to a diplomatic faux pas, he incited the anger of
Yuwen Tai, the leading general of Western Wei, which resulted in him
being deposed and dying.
Western WeiWestern Wei set up the puppet state of
Western Liang with capital at Jiangling.
Northern QiNorthern Qi also had designs
on the Liang throne and sent an expedition under the banner of a
cousin of Emperor Yuan.
Chen BaxianChen Baxian and
Wang Sengbian set up the last
surviving son of Emperor Yuan, Xiao Fangzhi, as Liang ruler, but he
was not given the imperial title. After some defeats to the forces of
Northern Qi,
Wang Sengbian allowed their pretender,
Xiao Yuanming to
establish himself as Emperor Min of Liang. However,
Chen BaxianChen Baxian was
displeased with the arrangements, and in a surprise move killed Wang
and deposed Emperor Min in favor of Xiao Fangzhi who became Emperor
Jing of Liang. After a short reign, Chen deposed Emperor Jing and took
power himself as
Emperor Wu of ChenEmperor Wu of Chen in 557.
Chen (557–589)[edit]
Main article: Chen Dynasty

One of the two qilin statues from the Yongning Tomb of the Emperor Wen
of Chen (r. 559-566 AD), Chen Dynasty, Qixia District, Nanjing.

Emperor Wu of ChenEmperor Wu of Chen came from the region of Wu (a region near
modern-day Shanghai). At that time, due to the
Hou Jing rebellion, the
Qiao and Wu clans were greatly weakened, and many independent regimes
emerged. Emperor Wu could not pacify all the independent regimes, so
he adopted conciliatory measures. After the sudden death of Emperor
Wu, his nephew Chen Qian took power as Emperor Wen of Chen. After the
fall of Liang, the general Wang Lin had established an independent
kingdom based in modern-day Hunan and Hubei provinces and was now
starting to cause trouble. Wang Lin allied with
Northern ZhouNorthern Zhou and
Northern QiNorthern Qi to conquer the Chen capital at Jiankang. Emperor Wen first
defeated the combined forces of
Northern QiNorthern Qi and Wang Lin before
preventing the forces of
Northern ZhouNorthern Zhou from entering the South at
Yueyang. Furthermore, through Emperor Wen's extensive efforts at good
governance, the economic situation of the South was greatly improved,
restoring his kingdom's national strength.
Following the death of Emperor Wen, his son, the weak-willed Chen
Bozong, took power and became Emperor Fei of Chen. His uncle, Chen Xu,
after essentially controlling the country through his short reign,
eventually deposed him and took power as Emperor Xuan of Chen. At that
time, the
Northern ZhouNorthern Zhou intended to conquer
Northern QiNorthern Qi and thus
invited the
Chen dynastyChen dynasty to help. Emperor Xuan agreed to help because
he wanted to recover the lost territories south of the Huai River. In
573, he sent general Wu Mingche to assist the effort; in two years, he
managed to recover he lost territories south of the Huai River. At the
time,
Northern QiNorthern Qi was in a precarious situation with little military
strength and Emperor Xuan could have taken advantage of the
opportunity to entirely defeat Northern Qi. However, he only wanted to
protect his territories south of the Huai River.
Northern ZhouNorthern Zhou instead
took advantage of Northern Qi's weakness and following their defeat of
Northern Qi, in 577, they sent troops to the territories south of the
Huai River, where they decisively defeated the
Chen dynastyChen dynasty forces.
The
Chen dynastyChen dynasty was in imminent danger.
In a stroke of fortune, Northern Zhou's Emperor Wu suddenly died and
his general Yang Jian attempted to take the throne. This stopped the
southern advance of the Northern Troops. The respite was short though
as after Yang Jian defeated his rival General Yuchi Jiong, he usurped
the throne from Emperor Jing of
Northern ZhouNorthern Zhou and established the Sui
dynasty, crowning himself Emperor Wen of Sui. He proceeded to invade
the south to reunify China. Emperor Xuan had just died and his
incompetent son
Chen ShubaoChen Shubao (Houzhu of Chen) took power. He was
licentious and wasteful, resulting in chaos and corruption in the
government; many officials heavily exploited the people, causing great
suffering. In planning tactics to defeat the Chen dynasty, Emperor Wen
of Sui took the suggestion of his general
Gao Jiong and waited until
the South were harvesting their crops to entirely burn the farmland,
crippling the strength of the Chen dynasty. In 588, Emperor Wen of Sui
sent his son Yang Guang (who would become Emperor Yang of Sui) to
finally vanquish the Chen dynasty.
Chen ShubaoChen Shubao relied on the natural
barrier of the
YangtzeYangtze River and continued as always with his festive
and licentious activities. The next year, Sui forces captured the Chen
capital of Jiankang.
Chen ShubaoChen Shubao and his favorite concubine Zhang
Lihua attempted to hide in a well but eventually were captured by Sui
forces, thus ending the Chen dynasty.
Culture[edit]
Philosophy[edit]

Confucianism's unchallenged domination of Chinese culture and thought
was greatly weakened during the Jin dynasty, which led to a wide
diversification of political thought and philosophy by the time of the
Northern and Southern dynasties. This era produced a myriad of writers
that advocated practical systems of governance and administration,
such as
Cao CaoCao Cao and
Zhuge LiangZhuge Liang in the
Three KingdomsThree Kingdoms Period, Wang Dao
and Bao Jingyan of the Eastern Jin, as well as Fan Zhen, Xing Shao
(Chinese: 邢邵), and Fan Xun (Chinese: 樊遜) of the Northern and
Southern period. Much of the philosophy of the period is despondent
and dispirited, and a number of scholars and poets became reclusive
mountain hermits living apart from society.[2] Of these various
trends, the most influential was Neo-
DaoismDaoism (Chinese: 玄學; pinyin:
Xuánxué). Neo-
DaoismDaoism was highly influential during the Southern
Dynasty, to the point that Emperor Wen of
Liu SongLiu Song established a
Neo-Daoist Academy and promoted it, along with Confucianism,
literature, and history, as the four great subjects of study. A
phenomenon known as "empty chat" (Chinese: 清談; pinyin: Qīng tán)
became common, where educated men would meet and talk about philosophy
all day without paying any attention to "mundane" things such as their
profession or family. The phenomenon gradually waned during the Sui
dynasty, though it did not fully disappear until the Tang dynasty.[3]
Literature[edit]
Further information:
Six DynastiesSix Dynasties poetry
Literature was particularly vibrant during the Southern Dynasty and
tended to be flowery and frilly, while Northern Dynasty literature was
rougher and more straightforward. Notable writers include Yu Xin, Xing
Fang, Wei Shou, and Wen Zisheng of the Northern Dynasty. In poetry, fu
poetry continued to be a dominant genre, though the five-syllable form
that achieved great prominence during the
Tang dynastyTang dynasty gradually
increased in popularity. In the Southern Dynasty, a type of essay
known as pian wen (Chinese: 駢文), which used metered rhyme, flowery
language, and classical allusions, became popular. Writings often
spoke of removing oneself from everyday material existence and
jettisoning cares and anxiety.
Poets of the Northern and
Southern dynastiesSouthern dynasties focused on imitating
older classical poets of Ancient China, formalizing the rhyme patterns
and meters that governed poem composition. However, scholars realized
that ancient songs and poems, like those of the Shijing, in many
instances no longer rhymed due to sound shifts over the previous
centuries. The introduction of
BuddhismBuddhism to China, which began in the
late
Han dynastyHan dynasty and continued through the Tang dynasty, introduced
Chinese scholars to Sanskrit. The Brahmi script, with its
sophisticated phonological organization, arrived in China in the 5th
century, and was studied by Xie Lingyun, who produced a (since-lost)
glossary of Chinese transcriptions of
SanskritSanskrit terms "arranged
according to the 14 sounds".[4] The four tones of early Middle Chinese
were first described by
Shen Yue and Zhou Yong.[5]
Other arts[edit]

The southern dynasties of China were rich in cultural achievement,
with the flourishing of
BuddhismBuddhism and Daoism, especially the latter as
two new canons of scriptual writings were created for the Supreme
Purity sect and its rival the Numinous Treasure Sect. The southern
Chinese were influenced greatly by the writings of Buddhist monks such
as Huiyuan, who applied familiar Daoist terms to describe
BuddhismBuddhism for
other Chinese. The Chinese were in contact and influenced by cultures
of
IndiaIndia and trading partners farther south, such as the kingdoms of
Funan and
ChampaChampa (located in modern-day Cambodia and Vietnam).

Part of the scroll for Admonitions of the Instructress to the Palace
Ladies, a
Tang dynastyTang dynasty copy of the original by Gu Kaizhi

The sophistication and complexity of the Chinese arts of poetry,
calligraphy, painting, and playing of music reached new heights during
this age. The earlier Cao Zhi, son of Cao Cao, is regarded as one of
the greatest poets of his day. His style and deep emotional expression
in writing influenced later poets of this new age, such as Tao Qian
(365–427) or Tao Yuanming. Even during his lifetime, the written
calligraphy of the "Sage of Calligraphy",
Wang XizhiWang Xizhi (307–365), was
prized by many and considered a true form of personal expression like
other arts.
PaintingPainting became highly prized with artists such as Gu
Kaizhi (344–406), who largely established the tradition of landscape
art in classical
Chinese paintingChinese painting (to learn more, refer to the "Far
East" section of the article for Painting).
Institutions of learning in the south were also renowned, including
the
ZongmingguanZongmingguan (Imperial
NanjingNanjing University), where the famed Zu
Chongzhi (mentioned above) had studied.
Zu ChongzhiZu Chongzhi devised the new
Daming Calendar in 465, calculated one year as 365.24281481 days
(which is very close to 365.24219878 days as we know today), and
calculated the number of overlaps between sun and moon as 27.21223
(which is very close to 27.21222 as we know today). Using this number
he successfully predicted 4 eclipses during a period of 23 years (from
436 to 459).
Although multiple-story towers such as guard towers and residential
apartments existed in previous periods,[6] during this period the
distinct
Chinese pagodaChinese pagoda tower (for storing Buddhist scriptures)
evolved from the stupa, the latter originating from Buddhist
traditions of protecting sutras in ancient India.

Demographic changes[edit]
It was during the Northern and
Southern dynastiesSouthern dynasties period that the
earliest recorded migration of ethnic
Han ChineseHan Chinese to southern China
(below the
YangtzeYangtze River) took place. This sinicisation helped to
develop the region from its previous state of being inhabited by only
small and isolated communities separated by vast uncolonized
wilderness of non-Chinese tribes. During this period, the south went
from being nearly a frontier to being on a path to the thriving,
urbanized, sinicized region that it became in later centuries. In his
book
BuddhismBuddhism in Chinese History,
Arthur F. Wright points out this
fact by stating:

"When we speak of the area of the
YangtzeYangtze valley and below in the
period of disunion, we must banish from our minds the picture of the
densely populated, intensively cultivated South China of recent
centuries. When the aristocrats of the remnants of the Chin [Jin]
ruling house fled to the Nanking [Nanjing] area early in the 4th
century, the south contained perhaps a tenth of the population of
China. There were centers of Chinese culture and administration, but
around most of these lay vast uncolonized areas into which Chinese
settlers were slow to move".[7]

^ The ballad rhymes in the original Middle Chinese. Note the
antithesis between fathers and sons on the one hand, and younger
brothers and older brothers on the other, both of which crimes are
considered acts of great impiety according to the Confucian tenet
known as the Five Bonds.